It's Jackie Robinson Day on Monday, Apr. 15, but it's also the Los Angeles Dodgers versus San Diego Padres, their first meeting since the brawl between Carlos Quentin and Zack Greinke. The Dodgers aren't happy, the Padres could probably care less, so is there a reason why umpires and MLB should be ready for the worst during Monday's game?
How about this? Start the game with warnings. That way both teams know that umpires mean business today.
No. Then that might take away the inside corner for pitchers. Chad Billingsley is a fastball pitcher, what if one slips? Then he's removed from the game and MLB gives more reason to piss off Don Mattingly, who is probably not happy that Quentin is getting an eight-game suspension and Greinke's out for a longer period of time due to a broken collarbone.
Can these players be trusted to handle themselves properly on the diamond as MLB tries to commemorate Jackie Robinson, a man who had to believe in turning the other cheek and preventing anger from taking away from his game.
Billingsley, the eight-year veteran, has thrown 1,169.1 innings in his major league career. In this time, he's hit 43 batters, that's equal to 27 innings pitched per hit-by-pitch. The Dodgers have Adrian Gonzalez, who was a former Padre and though quiet in his demeanor, should set an example for the rest of the Dodger players.
The Padres pitcher, Eric Stults, might be the peacemaker in this game. He was a former Dodger and was with the organization all the way until 2009, which is fairly recent. In his career, he's hit nine batters in 266 career innings. That's a batter every 29 hitters.
Taking away the inside corner for both of these guys seems unfair as the possess control. What we can hope for is that both of these managers can get through their players and let bygones be bygones. Yes, the Dodgers and Padres are division rivals and they are set to see plenty of each other during the regular season, but on a day like today, the violence and revenge should take a backseat as MLB honors one of baseball's legends. As much as payback and retribution are a part of the game, today is simply not the day.